eBay is making it free to sell used clothing in the UK - but not for everyone. By only offering the policy to "personal" (casual) sellers, it will make it harder for business sellers to compete, according to those reacting to eBay's
April 8th announcement, which reads as follows:
"eBay UK announces that as of today, it is free for individual sellers to sell fashion items, a move designed to encourage fashion lovers to put more cash in their pockets while supporting circular fashion.
"It will be free to sell all pre-owned clothing*, including everything from the items you have worn once, many times, to brand new items with tags on that you have just never got around to wearing or returning. Existing individual fashion listings will benefit from free selling, even if they were listed before 8th April.
"Pre-owned fashion lovers already benefit from zero buyer fees and are protected with eBay’s Money Back Guarantee and expert customer service team, at no additional cost."
*Seller fee removal applies to pre-owned clothes excluding sneakers, watches, handbags and jewellery.
One seller wrote in reaction to the news: "I feel so sorry for those in this niche who trade legitimately as businesses who are competing with "private" sellers who just got handed a massive chunk of money." The thread on the eBay UK discussion board ("
No Fees for selling Clothing?") explains why plenty of people were unhappy with what appeared to outsiders to be good news.
"I'm going to get pelters for this but IMHO private accounts shouldnt have new as an option, its pre-owned. This would then solve a lot of the business on private accounts. eBay already basically do it with shoes, if they have been tried on under eBay rules they are used. Giving fee free to privates is just asking for people to trade illegally, just another thing for me to ask the managers at the roadshow."
UK publication
the Daily Mail explained that Depop (owned by Etsy) and Vinted also offered fee-free selling and wrote, "Previously, eBay sellers faced a basic seller charge of 13.22 per cent plus 30p on all items. While it is free to list up to 1,000 items a month on eBay, there was also an additional 35p charge for any items after this."
eBay's partial move to fee-free selling in the UK in the clothing category also follows in the wake of Mercari making it free to sell in all categories in the US. But Mercari shifted fees to buyers, something eBay did not.